Ok, guys, I am looking at the Arado 196 for the floatplane build. I find that there are 2 kits out there. The Italeri and a Tamiya at almost 2X the price. Is the Tamiya really THAT much better or is the Italeri a rebox of the Tamiya sprues?
Thanks in advance for the help.
Dale

It is a rebox. Save your money and get the Italeri!
Same decals, I believe.
Good kit either way you go, no fit problems, except for the wing braces from the floats up to the wings. They require some filler, I used white glue.

I believe it's the other way around - the Tamiya kit is a re-boxed Italeri kit. Whichever way though, go Italeri - same plastic, less cost on the 'plastic' !
And Heaven forbid if Hasegawa release one - it'll probably be around £100 (approx $150) !!

Yep. I've just been looking at a couple of web-sites, and Hasegawa prices (of which at least two UK dealers have commented about their ridiculously high prices).
One of their 1/48th scale FW-190 kits (all the same basic kit, except maybe decals and some different parts) has a retail price of £42 - that's $65 US !!!!
For a 1/48th scale fighter !!!
For that price, I'd expect the feckin thing to start up and fly!!
OK, most Hasegawa kits are pretty good, but now that other manufacturers have 'caught up' (and can offer better prices), they're not that good. When they were 'out in front' in the late 1970s and 1980s, they were always a little bit more expensive, but the quality showed. Now, they're only marginally better than their nearest competitors, and not always, but charge between twice and four times the price!